Classic Fantasy Adventure
by Anone
Summary: Exactly like the title says. The majestic Elvin race is dying...now a ragtag group of heroes must go on an adventure to discover the cause before it's too late. But with danger everywhere, they might not be able to stay alive that long.
1. The First Chapter

Classic Fantasy Adventure

By Anone

Inside the marbled entrance of the Warrior's Guild was a cavernous room, built into the mountain from which the Guild was fashioned. Weapons of every kind imaginable were sold in this room, from swords the length of two moon-howlers to daggers as crystal and deadly as an icicle in the dead of winter. But there were a few weapons that undoubtedly outshone all the rest. In the very center of this room, nestled on a blanket of wine-colored velvet and covered with a glass case, was the most magnificent sword Yohji Kudou had ever seen. It's hilt was made of a gleaming rose-gold, and fashioned in the shape of a dragon rising from a bank of clouds, molten fire swirling from it's mouth. The dragon's eyes were glittering rubies that seemed to hold a flickering flame deep inside of them… they seemed alive. The blade itself was wickedly curved and white, veined with blue, as if made from a sheet of marble.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Yohji asked, his eyes wide and shining as he looked upon the golden-hilted sword. 

"It looks like a awfully gawdy sword to me, Yohji-kun." His friend Omi Tsukiyono answered. "And look how thin the blade is! You wouldn't be able to cut through cheese with that!"

Yohji backed away from the display, sighing blissfully and wringing his hands as if he could feel the sword already gripped within them. "Oh, but its made with Alcater, the Elvin stone that retains not even the slightest smudge. I've heard that a phantager once stepped on a piece of it as thin as a fingernail and the _phantager was the one that ended up broken."_

"Who told you this now? Some drunk I imagine," Omi said, chuckling.

"Ay, but it's true!"

"I'm sorry to say this, but you'll probably never get a hold of a sword like that. As rich as your family is, you saw how much they were selling it for."

Yohji's dark green eyes seemed to get darker, and he unconsciously clenched his hands as Omi's demoralizing words tried to squirm into his heart. "Don't you say that! I will have that sword." Angry, he turned and strode away, his heavy boots ringing loudly through the room. Omi cast a glance at the sword, and turned to jog after his friend.

As they entered the busy center of the village, the smells of all sorts of foods—roasting prong-beasts and the tender clawfowl, steaming bread, and sickeningly rich stews closed around them like a warm blanket, and they found themselves massaging their stomachs as growls welled from within. People pressed around them, the roar of their conversations rising, smothering and drowning out everything else. The vendors called out their goods jovially, waving them in passing faces and fluctuating the price to gain buyers.

Yohji jumped a little as his stomach twisted in hunger, disturbed by the racks of golden brown sizzling curlfish they had just passed. 

"Are you sure you don't have any money, Yohji-kun?" Omi whined, his fingers clenching over his tunic.

Yohji glanced at him hurriedly, their eyes not meeting, and he brushed past, pulling Omi with him. "Let's go over to those benches, and then I'll tell you."

He pushed Omi through the crowd, leading him to two stone benches under a sparsely-leafed tree, away from the bustling square of the market.

They sat down and Yohji handed Omi a grilled clawfowl leg, cooked so tenderly that the pink meat was nearly sliding off the bone.

Omi's bright blue eyes widened, and he grabbed the stick quickly, holding it near his chest as if he would kill to keep it safe.

"So…you _did have money?" He asked hopefully, knowing his friend's penchant for stealing._

"No."

Omi sighed, looking down at the meat dejectedly. Yohji meanwhile, helped himself, ripping it from the bone and not bothering to wipe the trickle of seasoned juice that ran down his chin.

"Yohji...I'm going to take this back."

The older boy wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and stared at him. "Why?"

"You know why."

He rolled his eyes. "Well, we can't exactly pay back all the grievances we've caused people if we're dead from starvation, now, can we?"

Omi noticed his mouth was watering as the aroma of the clawfowl assailed his nose. He watched Yohji take a big bite and watched the juice coat his fingers and couldn't hold it any longer. He took a big mouthful and devoured it ravenously from there.

After their quick lunch they sat under the scraggly tree and played dice for chipebbles, which were the customary gift that Mankin gave to one another to show their emotions. They were shiny, small, stones that had holes in the middle, in which people would thread through a string, and around their neck they would wear their chipebbles, to show off to others. Each color meant a different thing. Green was beauty, blue grace, pink peace, and so on. Red was given only from lover to lover, while the gold stone "friendship" could be given to any sex or race, as a sign of thankfulness for a relationship. Some stones, such as the black, or black and gray dappled, stood for negative traits. The law would require one to wear a black chipebble, for instance, if they had stolen, so those around them would be weary.

Both Omi and Yohji had a gold chipebble around their neck, glimmering in the hot noonday sun. Next to Yohji's gold one was a long procession of green stones, which he had been given by the girl's of his village, and next to the green were two blacks, which he tried his best to hide under his wavy brown hair.

Omi had numerous yellow pebbles, which stood for joy, or more. "bringing joy to others."

Chipebbles were a sign of your status. Anyone without a necklace of chipebbles was not to be taken kindly. 

Yohji laughed as the dice landed on 6, the number he'd called. Delicately he took from their pile a green chipebble, and a clear one, which was rare, and very flattering to the person who received it.

"Awww! No fair Yohji-kun! You're not playing with trick dice are you? Cheater! Cheater!"

"Hey hey, don't be a poor loser now."

Omi pouted and picked up the dice, shaking it fiercely in his cupped hands and letting it go across the grass. When it stopped, six dots faced up. Omi clenched his fists, leaping on Yohji and pounding him on his chest. 

"You beast! I knew it! RAGH!"

Yohji was laughing so hard at his discovered secret that he could do little as Omi pinned him against the tree and dug his knee deep into his gut, laughing malevolently. While grinding with his knee he grabbed a handful of Yohji's honey-colored hair he so prized, rubbing it against the crumbly bark of the tree and watching as it snagged and wound around the knobbly trunk and did other damage.

Only when Yohji stopped laughing and started coughing did Omi crawl off of him, breathless with laughter. Yohji calmed down and sat up, looking as if nothing had happened save for the tiny bits of wood tangled in his hair. He looked over Omi's shoulder, squinting towards the marketplace. "What's going on?"

Omi turned around, and saw that everyone in that marketplace had converged in the middle, and a terrible ruckus was coming from the middle of them. 

Curious, Yohji strode over to the gathering of people, yelling into the ear of the nearest person. "What has happened?" He shouted, struggling to be heard over the din.

The rough-looking man turned around, his crooked teeth caught in a leer. "They caught some hoodlum girl tryin to steal and tried to box 'er ears, but then comes this gent, her brother I think, and started attackin em. But the guards broke a couple a' 'is bones, me thinks. They got 'em chained down there and 'er layin into him, teach 'im a lesson."

Breathless, Yohji nodded his thanks and squeezed through the people, struggling for a glance of the perpetrator. Over the voices of the gathered crowd he heard a crack and a muffled scream, and he winced. He himself had felt the same whip's sting countless times before.

At last he broke through and was standing, bewildered, at the edge of the crowd. His eyes had trouble taking everything in. An alarmingly pale body was chained over the whipping block, but his eyes would only take in the blood…the blood rolling in big fat drops down the stranger's heaving sides, the tears spilling from his bright, slanted eyes… his hysteric groans of pain. As he watched the display, his fingers clenched on his breeches…he could feel every lash of the whip as if it had fallen on his own back.

Before long the young man was beaten into half consciousness, body twitching as the whip continued, eyes dull and half-closed. A feeling of foreboding tightened in Yohji's stomach.

He nudged a skinny man next to him. "What is his offense?" 

                The man looked at him gravely, his eyes squinting in the hot noonday sun. "He assaulted a Market Guard. 50 lashes."

Yohji recoiled, gasping. "Fifty!? And what damage did he do?!"

                "Not sure… he started after some guy for getting after the girl he was with, but some other guards came and caught up with him, and the whipmaster caught him soon after that."

"Fifty lashes for an undetermined amount of damage?!"

The man shrugged turning, to watch the display.

Gritting his teeth, Yohji strode into the slightly sunken whipping pit, the center of the market square, where thieves could receive their justice under the eyes of witnesses.

The crowd grew hushed around him, but he paid them no heed. The whipmaster stopped, his unshaven and food-caked face swiveling to glare at him. Obviously he'd been interrupted from a meal. "What're doin boy?! Does you want to join this one 'ere?!" He bellowed, his beefy hand flexing on the whip handle.

Yohji stared, his hands clenching at his side. "I think it is only fair, that you let this boy go. I was told you know not of what damage he did, and at this rate, you are going to kill him."

The whipmaster sneered. "Dun't matter, he dun't even have 'is pebbles, lookit." With the hilt of his whip he tilted the boy's face up, exposing the milky skin of his neck. There was not chipebble necklace to be seen. Yohji took a step back, his stamina failing. Just then a hysterical scream came from the crowd, and he whirled to see two crotchety old woman holding back a little girl, her eyes streaming with tears. His heart went out to her. It must have been the infamous girl who the boy had been trying to defend.

He looked to the whipmaster, and sighed, rubbing his head. "How many lashes has he left?" A murmur rose up into the crowd, surprised, touched…and some angry and protesting.

The blubbery man scratched his enormous belly and seemed to be in deep thought. "About twenty."

Yohji cursed inwardly, groaning. Ten lashes alone was ten too many.

A familiar cry came from the crowd, and Omi staggered into the clearing panting, his face flushed and beaded with sweat. He looked up at the whipmaster determinately, as the crowd roared around them. "Then give us each ten, and spare the accused."

Yohji felt relief wash over him. He would not have traded even all the land's wealth for Omi's friendship at that moment.

Without waiting for a response from the whipmaster, Yohji tugged off his shirt, exposing bronzed skin, marred by the pale whipmarks from experiences long over.

Omi followed suit with his tunic, feeling a tiny tug at his heart. He had never been in trouble like his friend had,and whipmarks on his back would surely brand him as a suspicious.

 "Are you sure you can handle this, Omitchii,?" Yohji asked him, leaning against one of the wooden poles that prisoner's were sometimes bound to when punished.

Omi looked at him nervously. "Yeah." With his fingers hidden, he weaved a small spell of numbing for Yohji, watching as the oily glimmer of magic, barely visible to the untrained eyes, settled over his friend's back, and before he could prepare one for himself the whip came down on his back, feeling more like a poisoned hook tail than a whip. He hunched forward unable to breath, and the whip came down on Yohji, and then him again. His breath caught in his throat with a startled sound. Yohji twitched. Show off. 

An eternity later, Omi staggered away from the pole, pulling his tunic back over his molten shoulders and tying the clasp at his collar bone. He felt dirty and festering…and he wanted nothing more than a cold bath. Yohji handled it with only a miniscule amount of greater dignity: standing up stiffly with a muffled hiss, and flicking his gleaming golden hair over his shoulder as if he had mussed it up.

He turned to the whipmaster, noting the solemn crowd. "What will happen to this boy?" He said, his voice strong and intimidating. The bald man glared down at the still body slumped over the whipping block, and then to the girl, panting and sobbing in the gangly woman's arms. 

"Sell 'em to a guild probably."

"You have no right."

The man glared down at him, the audience growing slightly uneasy as ripples of whispered conversation ran through them.

"E's a no good outsider."

"He is an elf." From the crowd came a new voice, and all heads turned to see a young boy pushing into the clearing, his doll-like eyes angry. A few bursts of laughter came from around him, as if unsure of the joke.

The whipmaster looked down at him ferociously. "What is it with you boys… can' ever just leave things alone…"

The boy paid no heed. "He is an elf…and you've nearly killed him. Now, wherever all the ancient clans have hidden, they will come for this town." More laughter, this time not as uneasy.

The large man looked down at the boy disgruntled. "It's hot out here and s'much as I'd like to stay and discuss 'ese elves…I'd like to get back to my lunch, I would. Take the "elf", as much as I care."

The crowd chuckled jovially, dispersing slowly as they left and cast looks at the four boys left in the whipping pit.

The young boy looked around frantically. "Where is the girl…where is that girl?"

Yohji bridled, alarmed, and looked around for her also, though there was no sign of her. Slumping in defeat, he set his large hand on the young boy's shoulder. "Hey… whoever you are, we'll find her….but for now let's get this..el—er…guy somewhere where he can rest."

"The elves will come for them….in only a matter of days…they can sense when their own kind has been hurt… we have to get out of her….we can leave the girl…they will find her no matter what, and I don't think anyone here would want to kill her before that…but this one needs attention immediately, he will die if he doesn't get help."

                Yohji looked down at the boy strangely. "Who are you…?"

                "Nagi… Nagi Naoe…apprentice to the Sorcerer Guild Master, Schuldig."

~*~*~*~*~

There we go, I like this better.  ^-^ In case you don't know what I'm talking about….I just rewrote this chapter…it sucked before…. Please read and review!! It would sure encourage me to write more! And BTW, thanks purple hotagi, for your review!


	2. The Second Chapter

Classic Fantasy Adventure….Chapter Two

Author's note: IMPORTANTTTT!!!!!!! TO ANYONE WHO READ THE FIRST CHAPTER IN THE FIRST DAY IT WAS OUT, YOU MIGHT WANT TO GO BACK AND READ OR SCAN THROUGH IT, FOR VERY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES WERE MADE!!!!! THANK YOU…LOL OKEEEE               

Reviewer's Response:

To purple hotagi- I'm glad you seemed so pleased about the first chapter! ^-^ Even though I'm pretty sure you read the original one. (the new one that's posted is MUUCHHH better, so if you haven't go reread Chapter 1! YAY) 

You were right about the "Mankin" and "Elvinkin" thing…I'm really trying to give everything a fantasy feel. And the weird animal names are kinda used the same way…the animals in this universe are pretty similar, such as clawfowl would be a type of bird, and moonhowlers are wolfish things…but once again, I was just trying to give everything the genuine fantasy-ish feel. LOL ^-^ And yeah, I made up the chipebble thing…. ^^;; :.:beams:.: And…they will be significant. LOL And…as too who the mysterious sorcerer person is, go reread chappy one to see. YAY 

To Mobb: YAY! I'm glad you liked the first chappy….though I think you also may have read the dumb version, so go reread chappy one! :.:hits with fan:.: LOL…anyway…yeah…I want this to be a long….go off on a journey with lots of events going on story…(kinda like an RPG game) and I hope that everyone enjoys it!

To koneko bombay: ^-^ Thanks for your review! I have people tell me that a lot, about portraying the characters well, I mean…. and I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm glad I can make my stories better with that talent. Oh, and thanks for your advice! I'll try harder this chapter to not be so confusing. ^^;; YAY! Lol

To Hele: Hey, thanks for reviewing! You'll definitely see who the whipped person was this chapter…and I ensure you that at least one of the people you said you were "looking for" (hee, I understand completely) will be in this story….and almost definitely both of them will be in it at one point. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks again!

Okee….that was it….sorry for taking so long to update, well, here I go! ^-^~Anone

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Classic Fantasy Adventure

Chapter 2 

                Sorcerer Guild Master Schuldig was a sight to behold. He was garbed in robes of the most expensive velvet, his delicate features portraying haughtiness and his brilliant orange hair twined with ribbons. Yohji disliked him immediately.

                As soon as the three weary young men had stepped into the sunlit room of the Sorcerer's guild, they were met with many pages who took from Yohji's arms the "Elvin" young man…and another wave of servants came and fussed over Nagi, rushing him away. Yohji and Omi were left alone in the sunlit expanse of the Sorcerer's Guild common room, standing their dumbly as their backs throbbed. Shortly after, Schuldig strode in, seeming to float over the gleaming floors, his eyes looking above them as if it would dirty him to lay his eyes on the two weary boys.

                "I thank you for your help…" His voice was indulgent and riddled with a dangerous humor, resounding around the room like the thrum of rockresters.

                As he approached, Yohji's eyes were drawn to his glittering sting of chipebbles, a habit that he had built up after years of needed suspicion of other people. Gleaming over the man's silken skin were gems of the green of beauty, hazy blue of wisdom, a red, flecked with gold; some other, unremarkable stones, and two, shaped like fangs and white, riddled with blue… they made him think of the sword that he so desired, waiting for him in the fighter's guild showroom.

                All of a sudden Yohji noticed that Schuldig had been eying him unabashedly, his sinister teal eyes drilling into him. "I suppose my bumbling apprentice more or less explained the situation to you…?" He drawled, reaching up to touch one of Yohji's black chipebbles. Yohji jerked away, glaring, and moving his necklace of charms so the blacks were near the back of his neck. 

                Schuldig smiled widely. "Now now…that's cheating, isn't it…?"

                Omi cleared his throat sharply, glaring at the orange-haired man before them. "Yes, Nagi explained the situation to us, though I think this is awfully…intricate for such a practical joke."

                Schuldig smirk crumpled into a sharp frown. "It is NO joke…I assure you." He bit out, turning away with a swirl of his rich velvet robes. "Follow me, if you'd please…. And keep your hands off the property of the Sorcerer's Guild." Though there had been no mention of a name, Omi and Yohji knew whom the haughty man was speaking to. Omi gripped Yohji's arm, silently begging him to let it go. 

                "You are adventurer's of sorts, I expect?" Schuldig asked, as he led them down a maze of echoing hallways, and mysterious passages that seemed to be fashioned from the night sky, for the dark stone glittered with specks of silver, as if stars.

                "Yes." Yohji grit out…still angry.

                "Good. I will provide you with a good deal of money, and I need you two and my apprentice to take the Elvin boy back to his home, understand?"

                Yohji glanced at Omi, his eyebrows raised. "What kind of ploy is this?"

                They heard the man ahead of them sigh slightly. "I told you before, this is no joke. Will you take the money and go practice what your profession teaches, or continue to waste my time?"

                "How much is the pay?" Yohji asked seriously. Omi looked at him questioningly, before it dawned at him that Yohji would do anything for more money towards the sword he desired.

                "12,000 appares, each."

                Yohji and Omi both gasped, astonished. "You must be joking!!" 

                "No joke, as I may have mentioned before."

                Yohji grinned, his fist clenching. "We'll accept."

                Omi ran his hand through his hair, moaning. Yohji always did this…. Don't even ask the little guy for his consent, although he is the one that will end up saving the bigger guy many times over…

                Schuldig stopped and turned to them, a chuckle rumbling deep within his throat. "Good."

They had stopped at a glass door, which was fogged so much that it blocked the view of those on the outside. 

                "I doubt the Elvin boy is ready to travel, but you must take him now… the others of his race are no doubt nearly here for them. They are all connected just a bit you know, all the elves, when one is in pain, they feel slight twinges themselves."

                Yohji nodded, his heart racing now and his anger at the Guild Master forgotten. With the money he could buy the sword….and even have a little left over. Omi seemed to have noticed to, for when the Guild Master had announced the price with which they were to be paid, he had glanced at Yohji apologetically, ruing his "You'll never get the sword" statement he had made before."

                Schuldig swung open the door suddenly, and steam billowed out, hot and wet on their faces.

                It was a huge washing room. In the center was a gleaming tub big enough for 5 people, and around it was a legion of man and maidservants, tending to the Elvin boy who lay barely conscious, half in the water. As the three watched he was lifted from the tub, his back streaming with blood and water, and a maid patted his back dry and applied a greenish paste, which elicited a hoarse cry from the unconscious young man. Next, some of the manservants bound his wounds and clothed him, setting him on a sort of miniature dais off to the side, where pillows and blankets were piled.

                Schuldig watched it all, satisfied, and as the maids began to clean the bath, he turned to Yohji and Omi curtly. "I will be out with him in a minute, please wait….outside…."

                They blinked at him, but did as he said. A moment later, all the maids and menservants bustled out as well, looking a little disgruntled. The hall was left silent. "Well, are you excited about this, Omi?"

                Omi murmured something, his eyes glued to the tiny crack between the doors. One of Yohji's eyebrows raised and he quieted, listening. Omi invoked the powers of amplification with his fingers, and a second later they could hear Schuldig's voice, barely above a whisper, but enough. 

                "That whipping must have hurt… it gave me a few shivers myself… I am very honored by your presence, I think I will not regret our meeting."

                They heard a few muffled sounds, and then footsteps, heading towards the doors. Yohji and Omi scrambled away, startled. Schuldig nudged the door open with his shoulder, the boy in his hands. He handed him to Yohji swiftly, and to Omi he gave two flat-looking pouches, the mysterious bags used to "carry" appares. Yohji looked at them longingly, wishing he had them in his hands instead of this boy. 

                Sighing, he looked at the form in his arms. The young man was pristine skinned, his heavily eyelashed eyes closed and his blood-red hair splayed about his forehead in stark contrast. He was long limbed…lithe, and beautiful. Yohji could feel the boy's ribs through his vest and wondered how long it had been since the stranger had eaten.

                From down the hall pattered the boy from earlier, Nagi, now garbed in traveling wear. He wore a tunic that stopped at mid thigh, leggings and heavy boots, good for years of use.

                Schuldig nodded at Nagi, and bowed very stiffly to Omi and Yohji, and glided down the hall, away from them. Nagi walked the other way, calling for the others to follow.

                ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

                Yohji nearly ran into the Warrior's Guild storeroom, his chest heaving with excitement…and his eyes bright and glittering with delight. He ran to the nearest weaponskeeper and nearly screamed his request. "I want the magnificent sword in the middle of the room! That one!" He pointed enthusiastically to the wondrous sword that would finally be his. The storekeeper laughed jovially. "Come into a good amount of money, did you son?" The bearded man's eyes crinkled in merriment. Yohji liked him immediately, and knew this would be a smooth transaction. "Yeah…quite a bit. You do take appares don't you?"

                The man nodded and they began to walk to the middle of the room, where the "magnificent" sword was on display. Yohji's heart was nearly bursting with excitement. 

                Yohji began to fish out the appare bag, commanding the leather pouch to give him 10,000 appares, and watched as the bag bulged with the money, letting some spill out into his hand. The man laughed again. 

"You lucky boy, why is it always the young ones that get God's fortune?" Yohji shrugged, laughing.

                "Well, okay. It's obvious you have the money, but before I make the sale, I'm going to have to see your chipebbles."

                Yohji made a quiet gasp, his heart nearly stopping. "What for?'

                "We just have to make sure that buyers for such a powerful weapon have no bad marks." Answered the weaponskeeper as his fingers reached towards Yohji's necklace. Yohji jerked away, dumbly. A few appares fell from his hand and chimed on the floor.

                "I-I have t-two blacks…." He stuttered, horrified to the point of numbness.

                The storeowner looked at him sorrowfully, his bushy eyebrows crinkling to shadow his eyes. He cleared his throat. "W-well I'm very sorry son… but, I can't sell you this sword."

                Yohji gulped. "Y-you have to! I have money! I earned the money! You have to let me buy it!"

                The man shook his head gravely…"I'm sorry son…there's other swords, nearly as good that we can---"

                Yohji grabbed the man's tunic. "NO! You have to sell me this one! You can't do this!" The despair in Yohji's heart was eating him up.

                The man looked slightly alarmed, and guards began to jog towards them. Unaware of almost everything, Yohji let the man go, his eyes shiny with tears. "Please…please, I beg of you….I want this sword….I promise you that no ill will come of it….please…please…"

                The man continued to shake his head, and turned to walk away. The sorrow that had sunk Yohji's heart boiled into anger and he attacked the man from behind, smacking him with the flat of his short blade.

                The weaponskeeper whirled on him, and guards came down on him. Tackling him to the floor and binding his hands. With a boot one of the guard's hiked up his shirt, sending a burning pain into Yohji's whole body and making him shudder with nausea. 

                "Well look at that, E's a'ready been whipped once today, good work, Gideon. Woulda been a mistake to sell to 'is scum!"

                A whip came down on Yohji's back, over the wounds that had only just started to close. He bit back a scream as tears brimmed in his eyes. The whip smashed down on him again, feeling like a club the size of a man. His stared at the floor, defeated, choking on the pain; and tears streamed freely, and he knew then that the world wasn't fair. His chipebble necklace fell free from the folds of his shirt; two black stones glittered up at him, malevolently.

End Chapter 2

EEEP! Sorry this one was kinda short! I just thought that I had reached a good place for the end, and plus, this way, you guys'll get to read it sooner! YAY

AND REMEMBER, REVIEWS FUEL THE IMAGINATION!!!                 LOL I just made that up… 


	3. The Third Chapter

Ummmmm…………..YAY!

Reviewer Response: 

Purplehotagi: :.:smacks with fan:: SHUSHHH!! You can't just be guessing (correctly)  the story before I even write it! So…SHUSH!!! :.:smack smack:.: ^-^ Yeah so…if you see something you mentioned in a review appearing in the story….than I didn't copy….you're just a disturbingly good predictor…..u_u;;

Lady Kickass: Hello! Thanks so much for your reviews! They were really flattering!!! Sometimes I feel like the further I progress in the story, the less the quality gets, but your comment about the second chapter being better than the first really encouraged me!!! I hope I can continue to write a story that's enjoyable to read!

P.S. about the dialogue…You're right! Dialogue is hard! Sometimes I just have to force myself to stop writing, and pretend that the story is like a show, hoping that the natural things they would say will just come to me…. And it's especially hard to do the _needed_ dialogue, like info or flashbacks or whatever, and stay in character, ne? ^-^

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Classic Fantasy Adventure

Chapter 3

                Yohji staggered out of the Warrior's Guild, a broken soul. It had only been a sword…but to _not allow him to get it_…and just because of a few, horrid little stones that spoke of past grievances! This was something that disheartened him to no end, something that made him want to just curl up somewhere in the shadows and let the earth devour him. 

The sunlight pierced his eyes as he swayed into the sun baked courtyard, leaving him momentarily blind. He sniffed pathetically as hot, salty tears rolled down his cheeks, and he struggled to choke back the lump that had formed in his throat. Before he could even register what to do next, Omi rushed up to him, concern evident. "Yohji-kun! What happened, what is it? Oh! You're bleeding Yohji!…..Yohji?" Yohji choked, gritting his teeth and fighting to keep him and Omi's gaze from meeting. He knew…somehow he knew, that if he allowed Omi to see his red, shining eyes, burdened with shame, he would never be able to put any of this behind him.

                And thankfully Omi quieted, sensing his friend's sorrow, and walked silently with Yohji until they reached his modest house, where they had been waiting for his return. As they entered grimly, Nagi rose, his eyebrows furrowing. He seemed unusually tense, and his voice trembled as he spoke. "What has happened to him?"

                Omi shook his head, lowering Yohji onto the edge of his bed. Nagi and Omi exchanged glances, shrugging. Whatever it was that happened had obviously lowered Yohji's morale, and he was DEFENITELY not ready to talk about it. Omi could only imagine what kind of trouble had befallen his friend. He cleared his throat, nodding at Nagi. "I think he had some trouble in purchasing an item he wanted, that's all. I--"

                "Noumel…? And for the first time they heard the Elfin young man's voice, melodic and ringing like a chime, yet somehow beautiful in its deep masculinity as he uttered a word that was not so much as a sound.

Their charge was curled up at the head of Yohji's bed, a beautiful puzzle of long, pristine, limbs. His intelligent eyes were half lidded, but Omi and Nagi could see that they glimmered the color of purest violet. It seemed that the boy had been watching them, and listening intently. Omi smiled kindly. "Hello."

                The elf said nothing, but blinked at him, his coal lashes flashing starkly over pale skin. 

                Nagi glanced at the exchange, smiling softly to himself. "I don't know if he can understand you… he may not know any Mankin languages."

                Omi nodded. "I see." Then he got up and moved into Yohji's humble kitchen, taking out a few slices of cheese, and a hunk of slightly stale bread. "But I bet food is universal!" He claimed cheerily, putting the food in the Elf's motionless hands. The boy blinked at him a couple of times, and put a slice of cheese to his lips… holding it there, as if waiting for something. Omi chuckled. "You're a curious one."

                His gaze turned more serious as he glanced at Yohji… who had sat silently since they'd gotten home, staring at the floor. 

                "Do you still want to go through with this, Yohji?" Omi asked.

                The older man looked up, as if startled. And then he broke into a weak smile, his eyes crinkling. "Of course. I wouldn't accept something and then not go through with it." As is to punctuate his readiness, his reached up and wiped the last of his tears away, leaving only reddened, puffy eyes to show his sadness.

                Half of Omi's mouth titled up in a grin, as if unsure as to whether it should be smiling or not, but he nodded anyway.

                Nagi stood up. "Then we should go."

                Omi cleared his throat. "Are-are you done with business…here, Yohji?"

                Yohji nodded, and stood up. Omi lowered himself down near the Elf, who still held the sliver of cheese to his lips, as he watched the three of them curiously. "We're GOING now." Omi said cheerfully, taking the Elf's hand and helping him to stand. The bread and cheese fell from his frail grip and onto the floor. They looked at it silently, unsure of how to react, until Yohji let out a sweet ripple of laughter. He smiled at the elf, putting his arm over the stranger's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get you some food at the nearest town,"—he winked—"ne?"

                The Elf blinked up at him, cocking his head to the side. Yohji chuckled and put his arms around the Elf's waist, careful not to touch his wounds as he helped him off the bed. 

"So, do you know where we are going?" Omi asked Nagi, doubt written on his face. 

                Nagi nodded. "It's far away, and it will be a hard journey…"

                Omi stared at him for a second, a inquisitive expression on his face. "Hmmm… this is all very strange…"

                Nagi seemed to twitch as he looked at Omi uncomfortably. "What is strange?"

                "If this Elf person is obviously out of danger now, why don't we just leave him for his kind to retrieve? If they are coming….as you have said."

                The younger boy stiffened, biting his lip until it was pale. "W-Well….Schuldig failed to mention this, but, although they are angered by the very act…E-Elves will not accept other Elves that are hurt or soiled by humans back into their own kind… the other elves would kill him."

                "Then why are we taking him back to his _home_?!" Yohji bit out, his suspicion rising. The Elfin boy winced, taking a step away from them. Nagi did the same.

                "Uhhhh… y-you see…." 

                "No, I don't see." Yohji said seriously, his voice grave.

                Before Nagi could say another thing, a scream resounded from outside, making them jump. Before they could react, the small window at the front of Yohji's house shattered, and more screams rose from outside, terrified and painful.

                "What's happening?!" Omi cried.

                Nagi moved in front of the group, summoning a faint barrier of protection. "They've come for the them!"

                'Well, they can have him!" Yohji grabbed the Elvin boy's shoulders roughly, pushing him forward, despite his cry of panic. Yohji was so angered by Nagi's obvious lies that at the moment he wanted nothing more to do with Elves or adventures our snotty orange-haired men.  

                "NO! We can't!" Nagi snarled, grabbing the boy by the hand and blowing a hole through the back wall with a blast of magic. Yohji gaped helplessly, anger boiling within him. 

                "You..!!"

                But Nagi wasn't listening. He raced out of the opening, and before his brain could even register that he'd made it outside, hands caught him up from the ground. There were Elves on the roof waiting, and they brought him up roughly but carefully, and the red-haired Elfin boy was pinned to the ground by another Elf, whose bodies were shimmering white and their hair flowing around them as if it were under water. They were a sight to see, as haunting as a specter. As the first elf fought to hold the boy to the ground, another Elf strode over swiftly, holding a rillow bow to the back of the boy's neck and readying to fire. Nagi cried out in horror, fighting to be free of the Elfin fingers that tangled in his clothes and hair.

                The bow thrummed and was let go---into the ruined wall of the house as Yohji knocked the graceful weapon aside with his own stout blade. The Elf growled at him, his voice alien and haunting, his eyes glowing blue. Everywhere screams were rising, and houses and buildings were going up in flame. Elves flitted like ghosts from house to house, moving as swiftly as the White Stag, himself. Their spectral presence added to the horror of the night, and from inside, Omi nearly screamed as an Elfin figure, as unspeakably terrifying as a corpse, yet as beautiful as a swan gliding on water flitted by him, it's hair swirling behind. So beautiful it was terrifying. And for a brief second he wondered what their own Elfin responsibility had lost to make him no longer frightening, nor menacing, but as beautiful and innocent as a newborn spirefoal.

                Call upon all the courage he had in him, Omi forced his pounding heart to slow and he crept out back, where Yohji and Nagi were working ferociously to keep the unearthly stunning elves from harming the red-haired young man who laid on the ground unmoving.

                Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Omi summoned his Bidden crossbow from its Place, and with thrums that seemed to resound through his whole body he began letting off a barrage of shimmering red arrows at the elves. Slowly they began to drop, flickering from existence after their heart stopped as if rotting there on the ground was below their level of grace.

                At last the last Elf in their vicinity had fallen, though they could still see them flickering through the village, spreading their chaos. Omi, Nagi, Yohji, and the Elf in their care were scraped up and bruised, angry as they cast their eyes on the wreckage of their village. 

Omi forced himself to breath, his eyes settling on Yohji. Yohji nodded to him, and together the four crept away into the forest, disappearing into the thick trees as easily as the elves had appeared _from_ it.

                ~*~*~*~*~*~

                Omi laid his hand on Yohji's forehead, his eyebrows crinkled in worry. "He has a pretty high fever."

                Nagi sighed. "Well…we have been traveling for a while, and with nothing to eat…. And it looked as though his trip to the Warrior's Guild ended with another whipping, which had to have opened the wounds from earlier… I bet they became infected."

                Omi said nothing, his lower lip trembling. The vision of Yohji staggering out of the Warrior's Guild fortress, tears streaming shamelessly from his jade eyes, flashed in his mind, and he stroked the older boy's hair back out of his eyes, his heart going out to him.

                "He has it tough."

                Nagi nodded, not knowing what was to be said for something like that.

                The Elfin boy crawled over to where they were gathered around a huge tree's surface bound roots, in which they had nestled Yohji after he'd passed out in mid-walk. The boy, whom they'd gathered was named Ran, lowered his head over Yohji's, nuzzling his forehead and making odd mewling sounds. He moved down to his neck, and Omi and Nagi realized that he was sniffing their fallen comrade, as if he were some pawfriend. Omi chuckled nervously, pushing Ran away. "Cut that out! That's weird!"

                Ran gave a small sneeze, and stared at him, his head cocked. "Weir?"

                "Weird!"

                He looked at them, an expression of intense concentration on his face. "Weir…ana?"

                Nagi laughed slightly, staring at the stunning form before them. "Elves have trouble saying harder consonants…such as "g" and "k" and "d"…among other things…it is why they're language sounds so beautiful."

                As Omi watched the young sorcerer, Nagi's eyes seemed to glaze and a careless smile graced his lips, as if he were in a paradise only he could see. 

                "You've heard these Elves, then?"

                Nagi winced. "Just now but…otherwise I've only heard Scholars speak it, in their practice….but no, never a real Elf…" Yet something about before made Omi think that only one who had heard the voice of Elves could ever hold that kind of look in their eyes.

                Of a sudden, Yohji groaned, starting awake and arching forward as if emerging from water. Omi set his hands on his friend's chest and pressed him down gently. "Whoa! Yohji…it's ok, you're safe."

                Yohji opened his eyes a crack, his word spinning. "t's going on…?" He groaned, tears brimming in his eyes.

                Nagi smiled. "You passed out while we were traveling. With a little more rest, and some food, you should be fine."

                He moved over to where they had set up a spit of roasted longfoot and tore off a piece, nearly dropping it. It was so hot that it sizzled to the touch.

                He waited until it had cooled and then set it on Yohji mouth, watching as the Adventurer pushed it in with his fingers and swallowed it hungrily. "S'good…."

                "Sood…." Ran murmured, his violet eyes sparkling with curiosity.

                Omi and Nagi chuckled a little as the Elf tried to mimic Nagi's movements, only managing to burn himself on the hot spit and throw the little piece of longfoot to the ground. He held his red finger over Yohji, whining. 

                Yohji opened his eyes, one eyebrow arching. "What the…?"

                Omi laughed. "Uh oh Yohji…he wants you to kiss it and make it feel better."

                Instead, Ran pressed his finger onto Yohji's forehead, and Yohji gasped as a brief pang of agony stabbed through him, and he fell back into the giant, cradling roots of the Mossgreen tree, moaning weakly.

                Ran lay himself down on the forest floor feebly, his face flushed. 

                Nagi cried out in surprise, and Omi stared dumbly. "What just…happened?" 

                Nagi put his hand to Yohji's head, a grin breaking out on his face. "I KNEW it! His fever's gone! The elf---Ran! Has healing powers! I knew it would be so!"

                Omi's eyes widened, and he set his hand on Yohji's forehead. "This is amazing! It takes even a full-fledged sorcerer to completely cure an illness!" He glanced over at the elf, his eyebrows knitting. "And yet…" He looked back over at Yohji, and then set the back of his hand on Ran's head. "Now _he_ seems to be ill…"

                Nagi gave a little gasp. 'How extraordinary! Not so much a healer, but a converter! He converted Yohji's illness into one which thrived in his own body!"

                Omi stared at the ground anxiously. "I wish he wouldn't have done that."

                Nagi bit his tongue, for he had been about to continue on his ramblings, utterly overjoyed at such discoveries. So little was known about elves…He could gain a high position among scholars just for a as small discovery as what kind of magic elves were able to use! But…why was it that Omi did not seemed interested…but saddened at this enlightenment!?

"Why not?"

                "Nothing has been gained!" Omi cried, angry adding a bite to his voice. "And I'll wager that Yohji could've handled this puny sickness more than Ran… He is still week from his injuries…"

                He looked dejectedly at the long-limbed Elf, on his side on the ground as if only sleeping, though his breath was labored and his eyebrows creased in pain. Sighing, Omi pulled the Elf into his arms, resting his chin on Ran's forehead. 

                Nagi stared at them, hurt, that Omi had very nearly _rebuked_ him with such actions and words.

                At that time Yohji sat up dazedly, leaning against the mossy bark of the tree that cradled him.        "What was that all about…?" he groaned, running his fingers through his hair. 

                Nagi glared at the ground, waiting for Omi to give an explanation, which he did. "Ran healed you. It just took a little out of him, that's all." The amateur magicmaker looked at the form in his arms guiltily.

                "Ran…that's his name then?"

                "Yes."

                "Did he…did he take my illness into his own body?"

                At this Nagi gasped, forgetting his brooding silence. "But how did you know??!!"

                Yohji shrugged, looking at his scratched up fist with intense concentration. "When we were back at the village….I saw an Elf…he was pretty beat up himself…come over to another…who was laying there dying….and the first elf put his hand on the dying one's back…and he kinda…crumpled on top of the other one…and the other one woke up…and started crying…and holding the other in his arms…and I think he sang to him but…. I don't know….." Much to his alarm, Yohji found that as he recalled this, tears of his own were springing up into his eyes…but the mere thought of this memory brought such a flood of sick sadness to his soul that he couldn't help but tear up.

                Omi unconsciously gripped Ran tighter, and the Elf stirred slightly, with a tiny cough. "Oh…" Was all Omi could think of to say… "Oh."

~*~*~*~*

Well…I'm interested to know….How do you guys like the way I made Ran act? Is it too innocent? I realize its way OOC from how he is in the show….but….I just think he's so cute when he can't even understand what humans are saying! :.:nuzzles Aya-eruhu:.:         

Aya-eruhu: Oro….? @ . @ 

LOL HAR HAR! I SLAY MYSELF


	4. The Fourth Chapter

Author's Note: ^-^!! I am happy! It is the second last day of school and I'm going to write instead of doing school work! KYAAAAAAAAA

Oh yeah. and I forgot to mention…that this story is intended to be non-yaoi…(sorry if anyone is turned away by this T-T) but maybe shounen-ai, depending on everyone's view of this…genre. By shounen-ai (boy love) I mean more like, brotherly/friendshippy love…also known as SMARM!! HAHA….and also they're probably be/already has been a lot of h/c (hurt comfort) which is kinda self explanatory…and I'm doing it cause I love that TOOOOOOOO! HOHOHOHOHOHO

Reviewer's Response:

Lady Kickass: WHOA. While reading your review, I was just sitting there….grinning so hard my cheeks hurt!!! I am sooooo flattered!! YAY!!! Thank you so much for the WONDERFUL REVIEW OF DOOM THAT I LOVE….lol And once again my wish is that I can continue to write this story to your expectations, and hopefully even better!!! EEEEEE… :.:reads her wondrous long review of praise she really doesn't deserve:.:

I HEART YOU   LOL

PS, I'll take the alternate title into consideration, and I'll keep thinking of ideas for it…   ^-^

Hele: Heh heh. I bet you misread it cause you loved it so MUCH you couldn't wait to find out what happens, ne? LOL Anyway…anyone can make that mistake! Yeah…and I realize that Aya is a little TOO baby-ish, but I plan for him to slip more and more in character as the story progresses, so hopefully he can be back to his more or less normal self. ^-^ Thanks for reading and reviewing!!!!!!! Please continue to enjoy!

Purple Hotagi: YOUUUUUUUU!!!!!! :.:bashes Hotagi with a baseball bat:.: YOU ARE NO LONGER ALLOWED TO SPEAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!! EVEN WHEN YOU THINK YOU AREN'T GUESSING THE STORY YOU ARE!! STOP SPOILING THE CHILDREN'S FUN!!!!!!!!!!! LOL  Okay…I'm joking, you aren't sentenced to silence….but …masaka, I wouldn't be surprised if you were an alternate version of myself….LOL Thank you for your support!! And please don't let me have scared you away so you'll review me still! LOL

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Classic Fantasy Adventure

Chapter 4

                The night was dark and muggy when they finally emerged from the lush forest and out onto an empty plain of tangled weeds and grass. The four adventurers were tired, hungry, and scratched up, and as the last tree passed away behind them, and the rolling hills of grass yawned open to welcome them… they couldn't help that their hearts sunk in disappointment. 

                Yohji whirled on the young sorcerer Nagi, who had been guiding them to a so called town that was always "just a little ways ahead."

"Does this LOOK like a town to you, ya little ingrate?!" He shouted, his entire body tense with anger.

                Nagi cowered before him, true sorrow evident in his face. His cheeks were slightly flushed from embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry I really thought that…"

                Yohji snarled incoherently, waving the boy away and unsheathing his sword, shredding some of the knee-high brush that tickled his legs. 

                "Guys…I think we should keep going…Ran doesn't look to well…" Omi offered tentatively. The Elvin boy was nearly collapsed on his shoulder and his panting breath was hot and sickly against Omi's neck. At the mention of Ran, Yohji's eyes seemed to soften and he took the young man's fevered face in one hand, looking down at him kindly. "If only there was a way to take that cursed cold away…back to where it belongs…" To emphasize his point he took a fist and pounded his chest, sorrow dwelling in thee depths of his eyes.

                Nagi, though angry at Yohji's rebuke, desperately yearned to earn back some favor, and make this whole journey more enjoyable for all of them. "There is a way."

                But his plan backfired, and Yohji threw a glare at him. "Why didn't you say so before??"

                Nagi drew back, anger bubbling in him, seeming to tighten around his lungs. Yohji stared, unwavering, his arms crossed over his chest. 

'You never asked, you…you thieving pleasure slave!!!" Less than a split second after these words left his lips Nagi gasped, staggering away dumbly. His heart had seemed to stop as the world around him slowed. He was going to die. Yohji was going to kill him for that one.

 "I—I mean…" He turned and tried to run, but as he thought Yohji was already on him with a roar, the flat of his sword smacking into the sorcerer's shoulder and knocking him to the ground. Nagi lay there, gasping in pain as Yohji knelt and pressed his hands to his neck, strangling the younger boy against the ground. Nagi choked, terror flooding through him as he realized that his air had already run out, and the back of his throat seemed to warm all of a sudden, and something gurgled up in the back of his mouth…blood! He threw his head back in agony, a trickle of his ruby lifeblood running down the side of his lips as he croaked and thrashed in agony. And then desperately, his life fading in Yohji's clutches, his soul screamed an invocation, and to Nagi's boundless joy Yohji was pulled away by an invisible force, thrown to the ground and crushed. He scooted away, vaguely aware that Omi was pleading with them to stop and Yohji was lying nearly still, his whole body stiff as he tried to push against the ghostly power that forced him to the ground. His head was swimming, but as Nagi beheld Yohji, his body twitching with strain, his face a mask of frozen agony, he could only remember his own overwhelming horror as his life slipped away. "Nagi! Nagi please! Let Yohji go!" Omi was begging, tears running from his eyes… And so with a tiny gesture of his trembling finger, Nagi banished the magic back to the recesses of his spirit.

 As he lay back weakly against the ground, choking back sobs, he noticed his throat seemed swollen, and for a horrifying moment he thought he would never be able to swallow again. But finally, after a few failed attempts, he managed a tremulous swallow, feeling warm blood flow back from where it had come. Tears burned at his eyes. He had never wanted to go on this journey…but he had, and he'd tried to be helpful, but it had come to this… his hands clenched over a clump of grass and he cried.

Meanwhile, Yohji gasped as the magic presence was lifted from him, and he rolled over on his bruised sides and coughed hoarsely, tears pricking his eyes. _Oh man…I'm going to be sick…_ he thought, and true to that, he clambered weakly to his knees and emptied the meager contents of his stomach into the grass. Omi kept his hand on Yohji's back the whole time, smiling sympathetically. When Yohji seemed through, he crept away silently, over to Nagi.

                "Are you ok…? I'm sorry about all this, I know we're all tired and angry and tons of other things… something like this is bound to happen…" Nagi stared at the ground, not so much ignoring the boy, as waiting for his tears and anguish to pass so he could answer the blonde haired magicmaker with a more or less dignified air. Or maybe he wasn't sure if his throat could even be used to speak any more…so instead he just nodded, and with Omi's help, stood up slowly, wiping the last traces of tears from his eyes. 

                They approached Yohji, who was bent over, no longer sick, but rustling around in the prickly field as if searching for something. He heard the sound of the two approaching him, and stood up stiffly. "….. Sorry about that, kid"--_now that wasn't so hard!_ ---"now, have you seen my blade? You'd probably know best, you musta felt it." He poked at Nagi's shoulder, his expression apologetic.

                Nagi winced, looking behind him helplessly for the flash of Yohji's blade in the grass, and then shaking his head. "I'm sorry…I don't know where it went…" His voice was rough and pained, and Yohji's expression seemed to grow more humble at the hoarse tone.

                "Nagi…again….I'm sorry…..I know that you didn't mean for this to happen…. Right?"

                Nagi nodded, a small smile betraying his still-boiling anger. "It's ok…I'm sorry…I honestly don't know how this could have happened..."

                Yohji grinned. "Well, that's all over then! I---"----"Yohji! Nagi! I can't find Ran anywhere!!!"

                They turned to see Omi, frantic as he jogged through the tall clumps of brush, his eyes afraid. "I let him rest….right here! Now he's gone!!"

                "What?!" Yohji cried, "that's impossible!"

                "Just stay calm!" Nagi shouted, and the two stopped. "I will summoning a lighting spell…just be calm…I'm sure he is not far."

                The two waited, tense and silent, as Nagi folded his hands, kneaded his slender fingers together and chanted lightly under his breath. A small breath of wind picked up around his feet, seeming to glow as if it were a long airsnake, lighting the air with its magical energy. And then abruptly, it stopped, and the world fell back into darkness. The ground thrummed beneath their feet, and a low rumble began, vibrating their very skeletons with its bass sound. It seemed to come from the very center of the earth! Nagi staggered a few steps, gasping. "Take alarm! This is not my doing! It's rockresters!!"

                Rockresters. Mysterious beings dwelling in the core of the earth, their snakelike limbs lurking under the surface of some choice areas, where the earth's crust was weak enough to break through from below. 

                Taking a deep breath, Omi fell silent and concentrated, bidding his crossbow to appear from its Place, another dimension where it dwelled until it was needed, and in a few seconds, which seemed to stretch on for eternity, he felt the bow in his hands, the wood sleek and rich. He nodded at Yohji, who was standing in a defensive stance, prepared to use his fists and feet or whatever was needed to defeat the creature without his blade. Yohji was watching the ground nervously, dancing slightly, as if on hot coals. The rumbling was growing louder, causing hearts to flutter in fear. The ground no longer vibrated, but began to quake violently. Still they kept their eyes to the ground. One never knew where the rockrester would surface…

                And then it came, the rumbling in the ground becoming so violent that it knocked them right into the brush. The ground around the rockrester's jagged snout splintered like glass, fractures racing swiftly across the ground until they became like a spiderweb, and the ground exploded, and the lithe body of the rockrester soared above them, into the night sky, and chunks of rubble rained down on them.

                Omi came up behind Yohji, though he could not figure out how he had managed, for he felt half-paralyzed with terror. Numbly, he gripped Yohji's jacket sleeve, his eyes wide as dinner plates and fixed to the sky, where the monster's ear-piercing shriek seemed to split the night apart. 

                "Oh gods…Yohji. I'm a coward…I don't want to be an adventurer anymore…."

                And the monster came down, faster than lighting and more ferocious than a firestorm, its pointed nose making a crater only a few feet away from them. Living under the ground had made rockresters sensitive to even the slightest ray of light, so their eyesight was poor, but that was their only shortcoming.

                A few feet away from Nagi a gnarled claw the size of a Warhoof rumbled from the ground with a spray of dirt and clumps of weed. Nagi flew back a few meters, crashing into the ground painfully. He lifted his head to face the vicious, twitching, claw of the rockrester… and gasped. In the yellowed talons of the monstrous beast was clutched the lost Ran, streaked with mud and dirt, but otherwise unharmed…and next to him was the beaten and bloody form of Guild Master Schuldig.

~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note: EEEF. I feel like this chapter is really short! GOMEN! How d'ya like the cliffhanger tho? HOHOHO


	5. The Fifth Chapter

Reviewer's Response:

Hele: Thanks for your review! And, don't worry, I promise Ken-kun will make an appearance really soon!! And it'll be cool! Promise!!!!!!!! And yes, Yohji is bad. Shame shame. So, you liked the Yohji/Nagi tension? Is it something you would like to see later, or just at the beginning? Let me know so I can continue writing this story to you guyses liking!

Purple Hotagi: Well hello my ever faithful reviewer! Ummm…stop making me think so much! LOL……there's all these things that (once you mention them) I'm like…….oh yeah……….eeeep……I'd better explain that later or……..oops, that won't work. Mataku…. How am I supposed to work here? LOL….I'm joking, I'm sorry if I'm seriously offending you or anything with my rants about…well…your rants… I really enjoy you're reviews and its good that you ask questions and stuff, so I can make sure they're explained in the story later! Then I can make it even better! YAYYYYYYY!!!! Yeah, and I know this chapter is even SHORTER than the other one, but I posted TWO! So that's an excuse….right?  HEEHEE :.:noogie on you:.:

Suisei Lady Dragon: Hey! A new reviewer! Thanks so much! :.:hug:.: Heehee! Well…as you'll see, the rockrester isn't exactly here to help! I'm glad you think that the character's actions are believable and stuff; that's always something I seem to get worse at as the story drags on. Well, thanks again, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!

Lady Kickass: :.:cower:.: H-hai Lady K-sama… :.:bows:.: P-please enjoy….:.:cowers in corner and cries:.: :.:sniffs:.: Y-you made "!!" marks at me…. :.:sobsob:.: 

Heeee just kidding…… and… this chappy is kinda short, but I uploaded two…..so together they should be an ok size! YAY! (and to be honest, if you hadn't gave me that review a while ago, I wouldn't have even got this out, but when I read it I was like... EEP I-I'd better get to that then…) Heehee. Love and Peace.

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Classic Fantasy Adventure

Chapter 5

                "Master!!!" Nagi screamed, scrambling to his feet and running towards the humongous, wrinkled, claw of the rockrester.

                The world had seemed to fade around him, and only his master remained, barely alive, his dignified airs muted by blood and dirt. Nagi put his hands on his master's chest, feeling for a heartbeat, and Schuldig's back arched slightly and he choked in pain. Nagi took a quivering step back, eyes afraid. "…. Master…?"

Schuldig's mouth was open just slightly…his lips pale and scabbed with blood… his hair was matted and plastered to his forehead with sweat and grime…."Oh Master…." No…this couldn't happen to Schuldig…not to the only person who ever cared for him….no…

                "Nagi! SNAP OUT OF IT!!" Yohji barreled into the boy, knocking him to the ground as the viscous snout of the rockrester hit right where Nagi had been standing. The blow to the ground sent them skittering away through the brush as if they were only a little chips of rock.

                Before Nagi knew it, he was flat on his back, and Yohji was above him, smiling grimly. Little chunks of dirt and rock fell around them like rain, though none reached him. Nagi gave a little gasp as a trickle of blood ran down Yohji's face, a testament to the falling debris. Yohji shook his head and wiped it away. "You okay, Nagi?" He asked with a dazzling smile.

                Nagi nodded numbly. "Y-You have to go for its eyes…. that's the only way…"

                Yohji grinned again. "Got ya. We'll have this under control in no time, just you see."

                Nagi managed a shaky smile, and another explosion rocked the ground a little ways away. The two boys got up slowly, their hearts pounding. 

                Nagi cast a glance back to the Claw. "I think I know where you're sword is Yohji…" and he pointed to the shriveled appendage, ashamed at how much his hand was trembling.

                "Hey! Ran! And…. Schuldig??!!"

                Nagi nodded. "It seems that in his claws he holds all sorts of treasures… and I'll bet you can find your sword in its clutches as well. But wait…."

                Nagi pressed his hands together, and whispered an incantation, the words hurried as chaos reigned around them. Soon though, a little thread of oily clear magic snaked around Nagi once, dancing and flickering like a flame, and Nagi commanded the thread over to Yohji, watching with sharp, magic-wise eyes as it slipped through Yohji's lips, without so much as a flinch.

                Nagi relaxed a little, weary from the spell. "There…. you are invisible to the eyes of beasts for a temporary time…go!"

                As he said that a shadow passed over his head, long and dangerous. Nagi ran a few steps, and the rockrester's pointed nose scraped the ground behind him but soared up again…annoyed at his victims escape. Nagi heard a faint cry, and a tiny clinging like a rock against armor. He squinted through the dark, and saw that an arrow was hanging loosely from under one of the rockrester's scales. The beast reeled, its banshee-like cry making ears ring, and Nagi set out for Omi.

                He found the boy crouched behind a thick bush, knocking his bow as he prepared for another shot. Nagi hunched down next to him. "Omi… you have to hit its eyes…."

                Omi looked up at him, bowstring held between his teeth as he prepared another arrow. He finished knocking his bow, and nodded. "Alright, I'll try. Where's Yohji?" 

                "He went to get his sword…and…. I found Ran… Don't worry about him now though, if we defeat the beast, we'll be able to get Ran back with little harm."

Omi nodded again, standing up to squint towards the sky, where the rockrester's head loomed menacingly. The darkness was so thick that he could barely see an inch in front of him…how was he going to aim at something smaller than his fist, taller than the trees?

                He was about to let loose a hesitant arrow when a small light flickered to life next to him. Nagi had begun a spell. A small breeze flickered around the young sorcerer, lifting his hair and stirring his robes… and there, hovering between his outstretched hands there was growing an ethereal light; a moment later and it was so bright that Omi had to look away. "…Nagi...!"

                And though Nagi's eyes were shut, he spoke to Omi harshly. "What kinds of things reflect light, Omi?"

                Omi tried to look at him, toward the light, bottom lip trembling as the looming form of the rockrester shrieked and began to move. "Uhhh…"

                And Nagi forced his eyes open, the light piercing them as if daggers. "Look at me Omi!"

                Omi squinted, and move towards him, and at once was aware of Nagi's eyes, so ripe with reflected light that they seemed to be glowing coals…. reflecting the light……… Omi gave a small gasp, his fists clenching unconsciously. "That's it!!!!! Thank you Nagi!!!!!!"

                With that Omi jogged backwards a few steps, readying his bow. "HEY! YOU! YES YOU, YOU UGLY LIMP ROPE!!!" He fired off one of his arrows, uncaring that it hit a scale and bounced off harmlessly. He danced a few steps away, laughing to himself. The beast screamed in anger, and hurtled towards the earth. Omi readied himself, bracing his body and knocking another arrow. Though he felt how his body trembled in fear, he stared the beast straight in the face, right into its gleaming eyes that were now no further than a few body-spans away. He grit his teeth and let loose the arrow, this time an arrow of Separation, and the single bolt split with the sound of lightning, letting loose two wicked stakes of wood, one burying into each of the monsters cat-like eyes. The rockrester reeled backwards, crying as slobber flew from its gaping jaws in elastic-like gobs.

                Omi gave a choked muffle and retreated as the monster began its death throws, its long body writhing and breaking the ground with a force of an earthquake. He stared up at it, horrified…there was something wrong. With it's senseless thrashing, the monster had become even _more_ dangerous. Well, CRAP. 

He began to run, a leg burning, chest aching run, grabbing Nagi's arm and pulling him along as he went, not bothering to stop. But it was hopeless. An earth-vibrating wail sounded right above their heads, and a vicious curve of rockrester body began its plummet towards them. 

~*~*~**~*~**~*~*~

HEEEEEEEEEEE Don't worry. I posted two chapters; it would be inhuman to leave the chapter like this, ne? So…Proceed, and please obey all traffic signs. KWEEEEE

Oh yeah, and I have a semi-IMPORTANT thing to ask you guys! If, when you review, tell me, (just tack it on the end there or something,) whether the chapter you are reviewing is BETTER or WORSE than the chapter before it (in fact, we can have a code! Just put BTL at the end of reviews if the chapter was better than the last chapter, and WTL if it was worse!), than I can compare the two, and hopefully be able to start writing them more like the chapters you like the best! I WOULD APPRECIATE THIS SOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!! THANK YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	6. The Sixth Chapter

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Classic Fantasy Adventure

Chapter 6

                It was Yohji that saved them in the end. He had found his sword, and just as the rockrester was about to throw its deadly body over Nagi and Omi in a final act of vengeance, it's head arched back and the rest of the body with it, falling in a scaly, grime-covered pile out of the way of the two adventurers. 

                They got up cautiously, their weapons bared and spells kept at bay, and slowly they made their way around to the head of the rockrester, and they cried out in disgust. Along with the splintered shafts of Omi's arrow, there ran through the eye and brain and out the other eye Yohji's sword. Blood and other bits of gore still trickled from its head over its pointed nose to runnel down its cragged jaws. From it's slightly open jaws wafted a smell so vile that covering their noses was nearly not enough to hold back their meals.

And there, slumped on the top of the head, between the two greasy shreds of ears lay Yohji, having somehow been able to hang on when the rockrester made its fall. Together Nagi and Omi hurried to reach him, sliding and slipping their way up the flabs of scaly skin to the head, until they knelt, panting, next to their fallen comrade. Omi shook him, worry evident in his face. "Yohji…Yohji, are you ok?"

                Yohji moaned and batted at Omi's bothersome hands, rolling to his side and covering his eyes with a fist. "I don't ever want to do that again…" he murmured.

                Omi laughed with relief, and helped his friend up. If they had been weary and scratched up before, their condition had definitely not improved from this last obstacle. Yohji had a deep cut above his brow, from which a little blood still oozed; Nagi's arms and knees were scraped up from all his flying trips to the ground; Omi's right arm was burned from where he had fell in a puddle of the rockrester's blood, which they had come to learn had various acidic properties. 

                The three boys limped across the broken and scorched earth, and on the horizon the clouds began to pinken, and a gleaming rime of orange crept up over the rim of the earth. Slowly the land lightened, and the boys found where the rockrester claw had thrust up from the earth, and there they found Ran, and Schuldig. To their surprise, Ran had been awake, waiting for their return. He seemed angry, and there were raw marks on his body, where he explained to them very vaguely he had received when trying so long to loose himself from the jagged rockrester claws.

                Along with Ran and Schuldig, wedged in the cracked skin and under the yellow claws there was a treasure chest worth of gems and gold, magnificent weapons and beautiful clothes. It was like the dragons of legend, who spend their lifetimes gaining and hording the treasures they pillage from the villages of their choosing. 

"None of which is any use to us right now…" Yohji murmured sullenly, as he sorted the last gold coin into a pile with the others and sat back on the ragged grass. Ran stared at the coin Yohji had just placed on the ground, his eyebrows furrowed and head tilted. "No….good…?" Yohji smiled wanly, staring into the elf's eyes. "You said a "g." Ran blinked at him, and pawed at the coin. "…sed a she…"

Yohji shook his head and sighed. The warm sun felt good on his body, almost making him forget the burning pulsing pain emanating from his head. He gave a little hiss as a muscle he didn't know he had flexed, hurting a large black bruise on his shoulder. Tears pricked his eyes and he allowed the rest of his body to sink to the ground. Ran curled up next to him, silently, holding Yohji's arm to his chest. 

                Omi turned from where he was helping Nagi tend to Schuldig's wounds. "Yohji… are you ok?"

                "Yes…" the brown-haired thief answered flatly. 

                "How's Ran?" 

                Yohji glanced at the red-haired elf, one eyebrow raised. "He…seems…better…somehow…I swear I thought he was dead when I first saw him there…"          

Omi frowned, and returned to helping Nagi as he tore the sleeve from Schuldig's robe and wrapped it around a raw sore on the Guild Master's shoulder. "If only we had some…water or something we could clean these wounds and… get some water down their throats." Omi said, looking hopefully at Nagi. Nagi sighed and shook his head. "Sorry… I can't make something out of nothing, and even if I did turn this sand into water, it would only be sand in the wounds, sand down the throat. Changing things are only good for illusions to trick the eye…that's all…"

                Omi nodded solemnly, absently combing Schuldig's hair away from his face with his scuffed fingers. "What…do you suppose… happened…?"

                Nagi shook his head, muttering an incantation of quick healing. When he watched the little wisps of magic disappear into Schuldig's wounds, he slumped forward with a little sigh, more tired than ever. "I-I don't know what happened….I think that…it wasn't only the rockrester that did this to him, Schuldig is too strong to be felled by this…"

                "Well, what kind of thing IS stronger than him?"

                "Just a few things…" Nagi mumbled, shrugging his slender shoulders. "I'm really tired…I think….I'm going to lay down for a little while…" Omi looked at him sympathetically, and nodded. "I'll…watch you. Make sure nothing gets ya, ya know?"

                Nagi managed a small smile, and drew his robe about him, lying on his side and closing his eyes. "Why are these things happening?" He whispered, a tear trickling from his eye and making an uncomfortably hot track down his face.

                Omi's frown grew fiercer, and he felt his own eyes burn. "Don't worry, I'm sure things will only get better."

                "I hope…"

                "Omi?" 

                Omi started, whipping around behind him in surprise. "Oh! Yohji, you scared me!"

                "Sorry, chibi. I was just gonna let you know that I'm gonna walk around for a little while, check things out. I was havin a hard time takin a nap."

                "I'm sorry Yohji." 

                Yohji shook his head and turned to leave, but Omi caught him by the hand. "Wait." Using Yohji's arm as an anchor, he hauled his sore self up, wincing as the burn on his arm brushed the rough fabric of his cloak. "Let me see your head Yohji, just for a sec." 

                "I'm sorry, it's kind of attached right now."

                Omi laughed. "Very funny Yohji." He squinted at the gash above his friend's eyebrow, and hissed. "That's bad." And though he was exhausted, Omi managed to incant a small bit of magic for soothing, and watched for a few minutes as he trekked out into the brush.

                So out onto the plains Yohji trudged, beyond the dead body of the rockrester, beyond cracked scars of ground, beyond the grotesque claw that thrust out of the ground all alone as if it were a tree.

                There was nothing anywhere. No matter which direction he looked there was only a sea of grass, and far away the tiny black dots that was their meager camp, and the dark mound that was the rockrester. This frustrated him, all the grass, and in his anger he sought to defy this fact, resolving to walk until the end of his days if he had to, just as long as their would be something else besides the accursed grass. So for hours he walked, chewing on stems of grass and delicately licking the dew from a few choice leaves that had evaded the sun. He was hungry, and he knew that the others were too, and if he didn't find something—anything here, they would die. But before he managed to see anything different, he noticed something else. That no matter which direction he looked he could no longer see the camp. He jogged a few feet forwards, frantic. He thought he had walked straight from THAT direction, but, then again, he remembered thinking he had seen something over THAT way, and struck out there…or, was it that way? His heart thrashed in his chest and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He was utterly lost. As this fact sunk in, lending weight to the stack of other "misfortunes" he had already encountered, he began to notice everything that he had managed to ignore so far. His legs ached, screaming for water and rest. His tongue had seemed to swell into a thing made of sand that certainly did not belong in his mouth. And as the noonday sun continued to burn down on him, he began to feel something trickle down into his eyes…something warm. He put his hand to his forehead, and he cursed to see that there was blood splotched across his fingers. The wound had opened. He shuffled forwards a few feet, a sick feeling gurgling in his stomach. The world tilted before him…_Oh God…have mercy I'm going to die…_

                And at the moment he felt he could take not another step, his body pressed into something cool and rough. It was a wall. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eeeee…there you go guys…I hope you're happy with it, and I'm sorry I took this long to update! :.:cough:.:LadyK:.;cough:.: ^-~ I promise I woulda had it MANY days sooner but stooped ff.net was down……….again……. and then when it came back up the document manager wouldn't work……::cry:.: GOMEN

EEF sorry about another cliffhanger…….I just noticed it kinda left off at a bad spot…….hee


	7. The Seventh Chapter

Author's Note:  :.:shuffles in, staring at the ground:.: Ummmm hi…. I….I GOMEN NASAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM SO SORRY FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO CARED!!! I AM SOOOOO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO GET THIS CHAPTER OUT, BUT I REREAD THIS WHOLE STORY AND WAS DEPRESSED FOREVER CAUSE I FELT LIKE IT SUCKED REALLY BAD T-T WHICH IT DOES SUCK AND I WANT TO REWRITE IT CAUSE ITS GAY BUT I FELT REALLY BAD SO I'LL TRY TO FINISH IT FOR YOU GUYS!!!!!!! AND SORRY I DIDN'T REPSOND TO ANY REVIEWS THIS TIME BUT I THOUGHT THAT YOU MAY WANT THIS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE… GOMEN NASAI!!!! I PROMISE I'LL REPSOND FOR ANY REVIEWS THIS CHAPTER. BUT PLEASE KEEP REVIEWING, IT WOULD INSPIRE ME GREATLY AND I VALUE WHAT YOU THINK. 

:.:sniff:.: Anyway…….. ummmm… just so you know… I realize that some of the characters are well, either HAVE been out of character this whole story or have slowly wandered out of character as it has progressed :.:cough:.:Yohji:.:cough:.: and I PROMISE I'm going to start working on that…. And…… I may also just start over and rewrite each chapter because I never exactly planned out what I was going to do and now I've just kinda trapped myself and it sucks anyway. But then again I might not rewrite it because I am lazy. Thank you. LOL

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Yohji felt a heat curling up against his body, and he saw flickering red through the blackness of his closed eyes. He woke with a start, pushing himself up and crying out. His head had become nothing but a fiery appendage of white-hot pain. He pressed his dirt-smeared palms into his eyes, waiting for the pain in his head to cease. A thick moan escaped his lips.

                "Oh! You're awake!"

                Yohji squinted in the direction of the new voice, his hand falling to the sword that should have been at his side. His heart hammering in his chest, he scrambled backwards desperately, his eyes unable to focus on anything but the roaring fire in front of him. When a hand alighted on his back, he nearly jumped out of his skin. He whipped around fiercely. "Who are you?!" The young man that had just emerged from thick bushes behind him held up his hand, grinning goofily. "Hey hey, don't worry about me. I found you a little way from here and brought you to my humble camp." He bowed graciously, though Yohji sensed some mockery. "My name is Ken, Swordsman Extraordinaire."

                "Where are we?" Yohji asked weakly. 

                Ken sat down next to him, throwing off a string of longfoots from his back and sighing. "You're just off the outskirts of Forlorn."

                Yohji ran his fingers through his hair. "Forlorn? That's a lovely name."

                Ken gave a crooked grin, his eyes crinkling. "Yeah, isn't it though?"

                All of a sudden Yohji gasped, his fingers digging into the soft ground. "My friends! We have to go back and help them! They haven't had food for days!" He tried to scramble up, but his legs gave out beneath him and his body pitched forward, his head spinning. 

                "WHOA!" Ken caught him awkwardly, lowering back to the ground. "Hold on a second. I'll go get them, just tell me where they are."

                Yohji looked up into Ken's eyes, soft brown and kind, looking as sweet as the soft candies from the Muglands. And somehow, he knew that this man could be trusted with his life.

                "Th-They're out in a field… somewhere… I don't know…" Tears sprang up in his eyes. "They're somewhere far away." 

                Ken had already stood up and was stretching. "Don't worry, I think I know where they are. Would it be near where I found you?"

                Yohji nodded.

                "No problem. I'll bring them back quicker than you can say…..ummm……. something short and clever."

                Yohji managed a shaky grin. " Would you really like me to hold you to that?"

                Ken looked at him, surprised for a minute, and then he melted into a smile. "Aaa…you're one of those who crack themselves up, arencha?"

                Yohji nodded again. "You bet." He reached out to Ken, bracing himself. Ken stared. Yohji sighed. "Aaa…you're one of those who doesn't get good grades in school, arencha? Help me up, I'm coming, too. I doubt you could carry four people back here yourself."

                Ken laughed and pulled Yohji up gently, wrapping his strong arm around the other man's waist to make sure he would collapse randomly on him.

                "Can you make it?" Ken asked, concern evident on his face. 

                Yohji nodded. 

                Ken led him through the forest slowly, stopping patiently when Yohji's wounds and hunger and exhaustion were too much. He didn't know how far away Ken would have to take him, but he had a feeling it would be a long way back to his friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                "S-Schuldig. I don't think you can do this, I'm too heavy!" Nagi said shrilly, as his body was lifted off the ground and onto one of Schuldig's shoulders, like a corpse.

                "Oh be quiet Apprentice. I don't really have a choice. And look, I'm faring fine."

                "But I can walk!" The boy moaned. 

                "Yes, we all know, we saw you "walking" just a few moments ago."

                Schuldig's finely-sculpted eyebrow twitched as he remembered Nagi doubled over as he tried to stand, a painful disease of the stomach—possibly just hunger---making movement nearly impossible.

                Omi smiled just a little, also remembering, though it really shouldn't have been funny.

                As he stared at the Sorcerer's Guild Master another wave of unbelief made him shiver. Imagine the power of a man who could be half dead on day and on the next, be able to carry someone on his shoulder. And Ran too! When just hours before he had been burning with Yohji's fever, he was now prowling the golden brush, watching springers intensively as their thick bodies twitched on blades of wheat, and pouncing after them like a kitten when they sprung away.

                Omi grinned as Ran opened his hands slowly, staring at the tiny leaping treasure he had finally acquired. After that he seemed to lose interest, and he tossed the creature away and scampered over to them.

                "Hey Ran. We're going to head out soon, so stick with us, okay?" Omi said kindly.

                Ran looked up at him, blinking. He put his delicate hand over his stomach and whined. "Hunry…"

                Omi's brows furrowed. "I know Ran, we all are. We're going to go find food now, so just hold on a little longer, okay?"

                The elf seemed to understand, for he nodded and stood up, waiting. Omi glanced at Schuldig, and nodded. "Are you ready? Anytime you need I'll help carry Nagi as good as I can." 

                Schuldig nodded, his face set in grim determination, and they took the first step of many.

                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                When Yohji fell it was not a graceful thing to behold. His foot caught on a root and set him reeling, his hands clawing at the bark of a nearby tree, though finding no purchase. Next he thrust his other foot forward, trying to balance himself, but the jerking motion threw him off balance more. He yelped and finally went crashing down, and the last thing he saw was Ken's surprised face as he hit the ground. 

                "Hey! Are you alright?" Yohji heard scrambling and felt Ken's presence next to him.

                "Y'know…" he groaned. "I think that's the only thing you've persisted in asking me since we met. And that's not much of a good omen."

                He heard Ken laugh and pushed himself up. He realized as he sat up that the breath had been knocked out of his chest and he took a panicked breath, feeling the air grate against his lungs. He leaned against a tree for some time, panting unnaturally, trying to keep in from giving in to the alarmed feeling of not getting enough air. Ken stayed next to him, stroking his hair and talking to him, rambling on about nothing.

                Finally Yohji's body relaxed, and he went limp in the trees cradling roots, like a puppet cut from its strings. "I don'twantto walk anymore…" He said weakly, tossing his head to the side.

                Ken furrowed his dark brows, but said nothing, as if unsure what to do.  

                Yohji smiled crookedly, his eyebrows furrowed with pain and betraying his body. "Bad luck you got stuck with me… I am one heck of a whiner, just so you know."

                "Yes, I think I have figured that out now. Some cheese?"

                Yohji's stomach and heart jumped. _Cheese? Food! _ "You have cheese?"

                "Well, I just though maybe you would want some with your _whine_."

                "Wow… if only your quick wit fed empty bellies."

                "Same to you, my friend."

                Yohji chuckled. 

                "So…" Ken mused, scrutinizing their surroundings. "You don't want to walk any more, eh?"

                "Nope. Not unless it includes food and a warm place to sleep." 

                "Well… I suppose you could try, though I don't know how much ground you could cover flopped on a bed infested with food crumbs."

                "How 'bout a bed without the crumbs?"

                "I thought you wanted food?"

                "Yes, in my mouth."

                "Well, I figured you could manage to get _most_ of it in there, but your coordination so far hasn't proved to be so good."

                Yohji was silent for a second, staring down at his dirt smeared hands. "I think you need to be quiet now."

                "Understood."     

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                She sat in a chair, still. Her face was alive and dead, unborn and timeless… her eyes shone with all the colors known to the earth, all shifting inside, myriads of shades swirling like the twisting of dawn dervishes. 

                Her room was plain and mostly bare… she sat at the window, looking out, the breeze fluttering the silk shades.

                Footsteps echoes outside her room and a soft knock came on the door. She closed her eyes slowly, feeling tears squeeze past and roll down her white cheeks. "You may enter."

                Her Boundmate strode in, his face drawn and haggard, sadness pulling his very aura towards the ground, towards the domain of the Great Sinner. His heart ached. She knew. Hers did as well. Though, there was something good, like a tiny light, burning in his heart. And his eyes sparkled with hope. 

                "Our eyes will rest upon her again, soon…" He said in the tongue of the Elvinkin, a language so fluid and beautiful only those who hear the language of harsher languages, such as the that of water babbling among rocks, or the wind in the coarse grass, have even the chance of understanding.

                "However, my Life, the memories of our sons presence have eluded our Senses, and the cause is wizardy." He came closer to her, his liquid eyes seeking forgiveness as he held her hand gently. "But let fear not hold you, we will embrace him again. Don't let the shadow of doubt drown out the light of your hope." He smiled. And she smiled, closing her eyes and tilting her head against his warm chest. "In a thousand days I would not dream of such a thing." She whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

                They stopped. Omi looked in front of him in awe, though there was nothing to look upon. He pressed against the empty space in front of him, and it held firm. "It's as if…as if…there's a wall…" he whispered. 

                Schuldig stood up slowly, rubbing his forehead and wobbling toward the younger boy. "It's the outside wall of a city, if I am correct. Many cities set enchantments over the outside gates to render the city invisible to the outside eye. He took a breath and put his palm against the wall, murmuring an incantation, feeling himself nearly leave his body to slip beneath the crisscrossing maze of magic that made up the Veil enchantment; searching and prodding for the exit to the intricate web like Akashin in the legend of the Labyrinth. At last he felt himself break through the enchantment, on the other side, in the boundaries of the city, which the magic whispered to him was called "Forlorn."

                "Omi…" Schuldig said flatly, his eyes dull and lightless and his spirit struggled to keep a path open through the enchantment and into the city. "Bring Ran and Nagi. Lock hands with me and them and do not let go until I tell you." 

                Omi shivered, his blood running icily at the dead appearance of Schuldig, from his paling skin to the death-like toll of his voice. But none-the less he beckoned Nagi and Ran over. Grabbing Ran's hand in his own, cold and wet, and urging Nagi and Ran to do the same. Trembling, he slipped his fingers between Schuldig's and let the Sorcerer pull him through a wall of magic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                A deep violet was slowly and gently embracing the sky when Ken opened the door to his modest little hut near the edge of town. He held open the ramshackle door as Yohji staggered through, barely keeping himself upright. Ken glanced around, to the east, at the gleaming orange crescent of Mune, and to the west, where the mountains shrunk and their edges wavered as Zon died its fiery death behind them, its light fighting to reclaim its territory, but being pulled to the Utherwurld regardless.

                He closed the door, bolted it, and stepped inside. The front room of his small home had one leather armchair, worn and set in front of a dying fire place. Yohji slumped in this, his face tilted downwards and hidden in shadow so that Ken could not tell if he was asleep or still waked. He smiled softly and knelt before the fire, poking it with a metal rod and blowing on the red coals, throwing some sticks and a log on top of it and finishing off with a half-hearted request he whispered to Morn'ira, the goddess of fire. 

                In the back of his house was the kitchen. It was made up of a leveled pile of mud and brick set with chips of rock for a more or less even counter, and a mounted shelf above that with a door to keep his dry goods safe. Set into the wall by the shelf was another rock-carved opening. Pull it from the wall and inside was a good amount of dried meats, enough to last him a Dead winter and a Dead summer, if need be. He took some of the herbs from the shelf and meat from his safe, and threw them in an earthenware pot set by the fire. A kindly neighbor had given him a jar of clawfowl's broth the other day, and into his mix he also added two handsfull of this, his stomach rumbling at the rich smell. Then out the back door he went, into a garden bursting with life, one of his pride's in life: His vegetable garden. He uprooted a couple plump zonroots and erthmeats, washing them in the well and taking them inside to chop. All of this he set in the pot, which he hung on a spit wedged in the fireplace, well over the flames.

                He went over and nudged Yohji. He was asleep. He sighed, rolling his eyes. From his room he fetched a blanket, and wrapped it around his sleeping charge. Then he sat down and took off his overvest and swordbelt; nudged off his hard leather boots with either heel. He leaned against the wall and sighed, letting the warmth of the fire caress his body. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                Emerging on the other side of the wall was like surfacing from water. As the last of his body cleared the spiritual pressure of the magic he found that it had become easier to breath and move, and his limbs aches tiredly as if he'd just ran a couple treelengths. He had only a brief second to see the dark, menacing flashes of building around him before he crumpled to his knees, exhausted.

                "Master!" He heard Nagi cry, though it was far away… so far away.

                Nagi ran to Schuldig's side, setting his hand on his master's trembling back and whispering a spell of strength. 

                Omi watched the exchange silently, Ran standing next to him. Omi hadn't noticed how much taller the elvin stranger was compared to him until now. 

                Ran spoke, startling him. "Yohji…." He said, carefully, as if the word were something very delicate.  "Where… is he…?"

                Omi mused for a moment on how Ran's language was sounding more like the common tongue with every passing moment, and shook his head in disbelief. "I'm… not sure…" As he said this he felt a pang in his heart, a sickening feeling eat away at his stomach. That they had seen no trace of Yohji in all they're wandering across the endless fields was not a good sign.

                "Don't worry though Ran, we'll find him."

                At that moment the wind shifted, blowing against their faces. Omi's stomach clenched and he groaned. "That smells so good."

                Nagi blanched, holding his own stomach. He had felt nauseous since they started out, though at the same time he was hungry. He panted a little, waiting for the pain in him to cease, thinking that dying sounded good over any food.

                In front of the travelers was another wall, made of gray stone and plain, double the height of Schuldig, the tallest of them. Above the wall towered the tops of wooden inns and the gleaming towers of religious temples, the smoking chimneys of shops and squat houses. Omi took it all inn, one eyebrow lifting. "Okay, we cleared the first wall, now, how do we get _in_ in?"

                Nagi helped Schuldig to his feet, and the orange haired man, too, surveyed the situation. "Are you an idiot, boy?" He asked Omi, looking down at the boy and sneering. "It's obvious, the gate must be on a different side of the city." He gestured vaguely to a spot about five or six tree-lengths down, where the wall turned, disappearing to parallel another side of magic wall.

                Omi glared, fingers clenching over his ragged cloak. "I don't suppose any on those chipebbles are for kindness?" He murmured darkly, only half-hoping the Guild Master heard. 

                They trudged down the length of the wall, Zon burning down on them and the wind gusting from over the city taunting them…weary, hungry, hurting…

                And at last they reached the corner, and looked down. This length of wall too, seemed bare, without any opening. Omi swung around and glared up at Schuldig. "Any other ideas, your majesty?"

                Schuldig glared back, his gently tilted eyes narrowing.  "There are four sides to a square, three to a triangle, and more to some shapes. So unless this place is protected by only two randomly placed walls, I suppose we have a bit more wall to check, don't we? You should hold your tongue until its called for."

                Omi opened his mouth, closed it, but no sounds came out. Never had he wanted to hurt someone so much, yet Schuldig was right. All he could do is stare at the ground with wide, angry, eyes, making himself breath under control until his anger had rested. 

                Though trapped between it and the materiel wall, the magic wall they had passed through was still unseen, and they could see beyond, where a forest of thin-barked trees started sparsely, thickening the farther from the wall it grew. Over their shoulder was the fields they had crossed. A sound came from the forest. They froze, instantly alert. 

                As they watched they saw flickers of moment beginning far into the forest; noises, crashes and the shattering of trees, rattling of leaves. The flickers moved closer. Shining brown and pale white. At last dozens of figures burst through the trees, howling. Mankin… on majestic cloven warhooves. Omi recoiled, staggering backwards against the wall, his heart smashing against the confines of his body. The figures raced right towards them. He had only a moment to look, but the lead figure was nearly white, a feral look about him. He wore a sheer vest of some sort of spotted fur, open and showing his scarred chest; for pants he wore plain dark red breaches. His hair was a shock of silver and an eyepatch covered his left eye; his face was scarred as his chest.  The leader let out another joyful howl, though Omi had an idea that his intentions were less than joyful.

                As the riders got closer Omi began to feel the light breath heralding them, smelling of sweat and grass and dirt and leaves…of blood. The smell of the Hunters.                Omi seemed frozen, though he was trembling. He saw the corded muscle of the cloven warhooves, stretching and contracting under dun velvet fur; their spiraled horns gleamed in the light, despite the dried brown crust that mottled them. So close now… they were going to slaughter them… Omi heard their breath, the gusty breath of their beasts, felt their blade-like hooves shaking the earth… They were going to die… He closed his eyes and shrank against the wall, holding his arms over his face…they were upon them. The cloven's feet would pierce more than the earth today…

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I KNOW THIS CHAPTER SUCKS! T-T WAI!!!!! I'LL MAKE IT BETTER!!!!!!!! I WILL!!! OH AND, I KNOW THAT IN THIS STORY I PROBABLY KEEP CONTRADICTING THINGS… OH AND, ZON IS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE, SUN, EVEN THOUGH I'VE ALREADY USED THE NAME "SUN" IN PREVIOUS CHAPTERS SO SORRY, AND, IN CASE YA DIDN'T KNOW, MUNE IS SUPPOSED TO BE BASICLY LIKE "MOON".

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